By Baptist Message staff MANAUS, Brazil - David Denton is urging Louisiana Baptists to join an annual Brazil summer mission trip to see a Gospel harvest in a city the team has not visited since 2015. Scheduled for early July, the team will partner with Brazilian Baptist churches in Manaus, Amazonas, to reach local communities with the Gospel. The registration deadline is March 7, and a $500 non-refundable deposit is due at that time. “The trip provides an invaluable experience in partnering with believers from the United States and Brazil to fulfill the Great Commission,” said Denton, pastor, Highland Baptist Church, New Iberia, and director of Beyond the Walls ministry. Last year, 69 participants saw a harvest of 700 Brazilians and the construction of the 75th church facility in the country since Beyond the Walls began its annual mission efforts there in . The team will leave for Brazil July 10 and return July 21. The ministry, Beyond the Walls, uses a multi-team approach that combines visitation, drama, construction and cooking for evangelistic outreach. The cost of the trip is $3,220, and covers housing, meals, airfare, daily transportation, airport transfers, insurance, tips and team t-shirts. Email … [Read more...]

By Elizabeth Clarke, LCU News PINEVILLE, La. (LCU News) - Louisiana Christian University’s Dean of Social Work Juanita Moorman practices what she professes. Moorman, who lives in Oakdale, has served as the dean of the School of Social Work since August. She also continues to be a hands-on social worker, in addition to her academic duties at LCU. Moorman said she believes it makes a world of difference—not just to her—but to her students. “I enjoy being allowed to practice clinically and still teach,” she said. “It’s an opportunity at LCU that other schools don’t offer. I think that allows students a unique learning experience—even better than I was allowed in my own studies. It enriches the classroom.” Faculty evaluations done by students echo that sentiment. Students appreciate having a professor who is still practicing what they are teaching them and preparing them to do professionally. Moorman has supervised Drug Court in Vernon Parish for the past 13 years, and does group therapy for Drug Court in Beauregard and Allen parishes from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. every Saturday. Her work has even helped with recruitment for LCU’s Master of Social Work program. “There’s a shortage of licensed clinical social workers, … [Read more...]

By Baptist Message staff PATAIAS, Portugal (LBM) – An Eastern Louisiana Baptist Association Disaster Relief team recently wrapped up a week of work at a Portuguese ministry camp that sustained heavy damage. The team of five worked Feb. 13-21 at Agua de Madei Ros Acampamento Baptista in Patais, Portugal, which is two hours north of the country’s capital city of Lisbon. While there, the team repaired roofs on three buildings and place tarp on three other structures on the campgrounds. According to DR team member Howard Turner, the camp serves as a focal point for the work of the two missionaries use the camp for ministerial efforts including 10 weeks of summer camp, weddings, retreats and other training sessions. Turner said highlights of the trip included conversations with the two missionaries and the more than 100 students who assisted in the clean-up efforts. “It was a wonderful trip all the way around,” Turner told the Baptist Message. “The two missionaries told us once, if not a hundred times, how much impact we had. One of them sent me a text message while we were there and said this was the first time he had seen some of the staff laugh and smile since the storm hit. He said we will never understand the impact … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Baptist Message staff writer MARCALA, Honduras (LBM) – A team from First Baptist Church, Poncha­toula, experienced a “God-wink moment” during a recent mission trip to Hon­duras. While serving in the village of Marcala, the team stumbled upon a school bus formerly used by the Tangipahoa Parish School District, where Ponchatoula is located. Associate Pastor Robert Parkin said the group felt it was another confirma­tion that God had called them there to serve. “The best way to describe it is just a clear reminder of God's faith­fulness and his calling for our church to serve these people,” Parkin told the Baptist Message about the sighting of the bus, which was bought by someone with no connection to the team. “How else do you end up with the school bus from your parish in the same community that you are committed to serving and reaching with the Gospel? So, it was quite shocking to see, and (Honduran) Pastor Juan thought I was crazy, be­cause I had to chase down the bus while going up switchbacks in the moun­tains, to get a photo of it.” Parkin was among 14 members of the mission team that served in Mar­cala, Jan. 31 - Feb 7, as part of a medical effort that served 575 patients (rang­ing from two … [Read more...]

By Baptist Message staff TIOGA, La. (LBM) – Faith Baptist Church, Tioga, will host a hymn sing, March 8 at 6 p.m., to bring together Central Louisiana churches for a time of joint worship that also will include Scripture reading and prayer, according to an announcement by Clark Palmer, who is pastor of FBCT. Kevin Boles, bi-vocational pastor with Lone Star Baptist Church, Hineston, will direct the congregational singing and Sylvia Murrell will accompany on piano. “Hymns build our faith and lift our spirit,” Palmer told the Baptist Message. “We sing about the faithfulness of God and it gives us hope. We sing about the cross and we are moved to deep gratitude. We sing about the greatness of God and we are moved to worship. We hear the voices of the gathered congregation singing and we know we are not alone in our faith.” … [Read more...]

By the Office of Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill NEW ORLEANS (Office of Louisiana Attorney General) - The U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled against the American Civil Liberties Union, allowing Louisiana public schools to immediately start posting displays of the Ten Commandments. This comes only a month after the whole Fifth Circuit heard oral argument in the case. “Don’t kill or steal shouldn’t be controversial. My office has issued clear guidance to our public schools on how to comply with the law, and we have created multiple examples of posters demonstrating how it can be applied constitutionally. Louisiana public schools should follow the law," said Attorney General Liz Murrill on the ruling, issued on Feb. 20. When the law went into effect in the beginning of 2025, Murrill issued guidance to all Louisiana public schools regarding compliance with the law. You can find that guidance here. Read the ruling here. … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Baptist Message staff writer MONROE, La. (LBM) – David Jeffreys, a long-time minister and most recently Louisiana Christian University administrator, will succeed Perry Hancock, effective Feb. 16, as president and chief executive officer of the Louisiana Baptist Children’s Home and Family Ministries. Jeffreys told the Baptist Message he is excited about leading a time-honored institution that has impacted so many families. “The Children’s Home has always been one of those ministries where you get to do some incredible things and to really reach out and help people in their time of need with physical and emotional support, but also with the Gospel,” Jeffreys said. SAVED, CALLED A native of New Iberia, Jeffreys turned to Jesus at 14 years old while attending a youth camp at Acadian Baptist Center, Eu­nice. His parents and other members with Highland Baptist Church, New Iberia, continued to disciple him un­til he left to attend Louisiana College (now LCU) in 1988. During his sophomore year, while working as a summer camp counselor at Dry Creek Baptist Camp, Jef­freys responded to the Holy Spirit’s call for him to pursue vocational ministry, he said, noting that LCU Professor Welby Bozeman … [Read more...]